Sigma's Victory
by S Prime
Summary: In the year 227X, roughly a hundred and fifty years after the Maverick Revolution; humanity has vanished, and Sigma's technocratic utopia is now a reality. However, below the surface, a secret war is being fought daily by the Counter-Hunters...


*huff… huff… huff…*

"Keep at it, maggots!"

*huff… huff… huff…*

"Faster!"

… … …

… … …

… … …

*huff… cough… wheeze*

"Am I… alive? … … …" I asked myself, looking into the green haze that was surrounding me.

"I fell down… did I?" I asked once more, as a parcel of white dust settled upon my nose. "That's right, I just passed out…" Blindly skimming my hand across the floor.

A commanding voice echoed in the distance. "What's going on over here?"

"Where am I?" I wondered… preoccupied.

I then felt a rush of pain coming through my chest as the instructor's metallic boot hit me on my side… A rugged hand grabbed me by the hair and forced me to look up as I reeled from the shock. "What's your problem, maggot?" He asked, as my vision slowly came back. "You tired already!"

Scanning my immediate vicinity, I saw other robots… just like me… That were all doing push-ups; each one of them, desperately trying to keep up with the instructor's barking. "That's right… the boot camp…"

"Just for that, you're gonna do me three-hundred more once the others are done. You better quit slacking off, MAGGOT! Or I'm personally gonna make sure that you get scrapped by the end of the day; now, you get back up, and faster at that!"

He stopped yelling… and let go of my head… finally…

Aching from every single parts of my body… I told myself. "I can't take much more of this, but I have to keep going."

I got back on my feet… and pushed… in the vain hope that I would somehow be able to push through the overwhelming fatigue that afflicted me.

*huff… huff… huff…*

"Hey…?" I heard a soft voice whispering. "You."

*huff… huff… huff…*

But I couldn't seem to make out where it was coming… "Hey, you?"

It had to be close; I wouldn't have been able to hear it otherwise. "Hey, wake up!"

… … …

I opened my eyes, and the green haze… was gone. "Where am I…?" I asked myself, for the second time.

"You alright, kid?" A stocky reploid asked me from the other side of the truck.

That's right, this was just a dream… "Yes, I'm fine." I replied, a bit disoriented.

"Hah! Thought we had lost you there."

"You know…" A timid girl in black body armor began. "You really shouldn't talk to him like that… I mean, he's a Sergeant, after all…"

"I'll do whatever I damn please. He might be Dr. Doppler's step stool that I couldn't care less; he's still just Zed."

*Ahem* "So what's the matter?" I asked. "Are we there yet?"

"Nah, nothing like that." Answered the chubby reploid with the rusted yellow frame. "The lil' lady here, was telling me that this was her first mission as a Counter-Hunter. And I was wondering, have you ever seen a live Pseudoroid before?"

"No…" I replied. "I heard the rumors just like everyone else, but they stay out of the higher tiers of the city, so I've never really seen one myself."

"Perfect, juuuuusssssst perfect! We've got a rookie and a Sergeant who can't make head or tail of a Pseudoroid's rump…"

I wasn't paying attention, but I vaguely stopped to have a look at this new recruit that was accompanying us. I couldn't really tell why, but I was amazed that someone like her could ever have made it into the ranks of the Counter-Hunters. Her innocent charms, her clumsy outfit and the way her synthetic lavender hair stuck out of her helmet; led me to believe that she had no business being here; but looks can be deceiving…

"And you have?" She asked, without the slightest hint of contempt or sarcasm in her tone.

"Of course I have! And boy, seriously, I can't believe you guys never faced a Pseudoroid before…"

"You haven't either…" A feminine voice, next to me, noted.

"Oh, hm…" He mumbled. "Ma'am, I wasn't aware that you were awake."

"You really shouldn't listen to anything Sweep has to say, he's full of it."

"That's not true, I have seen more than my share of Psudoroids!"

"But always from behind cover… and never before our sniper had dealt with it beforehand." She replied.

"That's cold lieutenant Gray! Even for you…"

"So, what are they?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"We don't know... We have no idea who they are, what they want, or where they are coming from. All that we've been able to assess thus far, is that sometimes, one of them will get too close to the surface; and that's why they're sending us to take care of it."

"That about it really." Sweep commented. "As far as I know, your average hunter couldn't last more than three seconds against a Pseudoroid."

"So if they're so tough, how are we supposed to take one down?" I asked, not really sure if I wanted to know the answer.

"That's up to her…" The lieutenant replied, referring to the female reploid on the other side.

"W-what?"

"She's a sniper." The chubby reploid replied, his voice hiding a hint of contempt. "Truth of the matter is, none of us would stand a chance against a Pseudoroid. Our job is to make sure she gets there safely. From there… it's up to luck."

"But… what if I miss?" The black-armored girl asked.

"That's why we're here..." She replied. "Should you ever fail to take down the Pseudoroid; it will be up to us, to take it down, BEFORE it can make it to the surface."

The lieutenant stood up from her seat. "In any case, that is none of your concern; Ilia…" She began. "You should get prepared. I'm gonna go check on the driver."

"Y-y-yes ma'am."

We arrived roughly twenty minutes later…

As we got out of the truck, our senses were overwhelmed by the weight of the air around us. The lieutenant went on her way to work out the last details with the driver, while me and Ilia secured the perimeter.

I could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't exactly comfortable with the battered landscape that was surrounding us. "Whe-where are we?" She asked.

Sweep came out of the truck with part of our material. "This is one of the lowest tiers of the city; perhaps one of the few access we still maintain to the ruins below. As far as we know, it's inhabited." He said, visibly not so convinced by his previous statement. "All you'll find here is hunters… and Pseudoroids…"

I could tell that this last remark did little to reassure our newest recruit, but despite that, I decided to resume my own search around the perimeter.

Having fallen into a state of disrepair, this particular district was now little more than a scar upon the glory that is Giga City; though one could argue that there is very little glory to be found within the lower levels of the Megapolis.

As my eyes gazed into the scenery, I was filled with a sense of dread that I had never experienced before. The unknown… Each one of those nooks and crannies carried with them the semblance of a shadow of the past; the memories of a time long gone, and of hopeless dreams, long since smothered under the weight of reality.

It is said that following the Maverick Revolution of 21XX; the Enlightened Ones, Sigma's chosen people, had chosen to settle over the ruins of Doppler Town. Settlement, which would later become the technopolis that is Giga City. It is said however, that decades following the foundation of this megapolis, that the Enlightened Ones decided to separate themselves completely from the rest of Reploid's society; and from this point on, Sigma, the Maverick savior; was never heard from again…

To this day, like gods among heaps of scrap metals, the Enlightened Ones still rules from the highest layers of the city; only coming down, when their presence is absolutely required.

It is still unclear as to why the Sigma's children had chosen to forsake this particular part of the city and migrate upward; though I assume this probably had something to do with the first appearances of Pseudoroids in the vicinity.

Being done with my reconnaissance, I shrugged off my uneasiness and decided to go check on the lieutenant; who was still sorting out the last details with our driver. Having myself, only recently joined the Counter-Hunters, I still hadn't quite managed to size up lieutenant Gray. She was always clad in a light gray and black battle-armor and harbored a faceless winged helmet that covered the entirety of her figure; with the slight exception of her jaw.

She seldom talked about herself, nor did she display any sort of social behavior; and from what Sweep had told me, it's about as good as it gets. Yet, it was clear that there was reason she was in charge; she was composed, firm and always in control of the situation. From what he told me, there was a point in time, during which she was supposed to be promoted among the Enlightened Ones; apparently, however, that there was some sort of failing out between her and her superiors; and she has been hitting the ceiling ever since.

Acquiescing the driver's response, the lieutenant turned back to me and ordered me to go fetch the others. From which point, she explained: "The driver is going to come back in two hours to pick us up, and a second time later, in case this takes longer than we would have expected. If we fail to show up after four hours, we're on our own."

"So what do we do now, ma'am?" Asked Ilia.

"The scanner indicates that the Pseudoroid was spotted below, not far from here. The beast seems to have taken a shine to these ruins, and our spotters believe they have managed to track down its lair. We're gonna get set up there and wait for it to come back, failing which, we're gonna find an open spot for Private Ilia to shoot."

"How are we going to know he's there?" I asked.

Gray replied, without the slightest hint of emotion. "The scanners emits a signal that is beamed inside our coms when a Pseudoroid enters the perimeter; from there, we'll be able to track it down and finish the job. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Alright, then let's get this over with…"

From there, the lieutenant led us into the lightless ruins down below. The sight of the remains of Doppler Town was unsettling, to say the least; I tried to remain alert through the whole trip, but the lieutenant seemed to be the only one who knew where she was going. I lost track of time, and of our current location. Yet, our recruit was the who seemed to be having the toughest time; her fingers were twitchy, and at every turn we took, I lost more and more confidence in her ability to take down this Pseudoroid.

And that, was when we finally reached our destination…

* * *

Yep, that's right, this is the beginning of my summer update cycle.

For those wondering just what the hell this is about; this is essentially my take on what would happen if Sigma had succeeded to best the Maverick Hunters and taken over the world.

This Fanfiction is set within 227X, roughly less than a hundred and fifty years after the events of Megaman X3; this story will focus around four Counter-Hunters, part of Sigma's own paramilitary force, as they slowly unravel the mysteries of their own twisted world through their struggle against the mysterious Pseudoroids.

It should be noted however, that those Pseudoroids have nothing to do with their Megaman ZX counterparts and should be considered a separate species altogether.


End file.
